


New Decade, New Beginnings

by Skye_Willows



Series: It Started Out With A Kiss [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Feelings Realization, Intentional First Kisses, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Referenced past Gavin/OC, Slice of Life, holiday fluff, polyamory discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22020892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Willows/pseuds/Skye_Willows
Summary: In the run up to the new decade, the group spend some time together as they prepare to ring in the New Year.Even months into their new relationships, things are still evolving enough to surprise all of them - and they might not be done with the changes yet.It all started with a kiss, and the next stage is no different. At least this time it is semi-planned.
Relationships: Connor/Gavin Reed, Connor/Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank Anderson/Connor, Hank Anderson/Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson/Upgraded Connor | RK900, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: It Started Out With A Kiss [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1404598
Comments: 6
Kudos: 91





	New Decade, New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. I know I've been really quiet for a while but moving is a headache. 
> 
> So happy that I've finally managed to get an update out for this series again: it's time for our boys to get even closer!
> 
> I know that it's a little early but as I'm going to be doing the biggest stage of my move over New Year, I wanted to get this up for all of you to enjoy!

Six months had passed since the group had begun their couple swapping endeavours. Now past Christmas, Gavin and Nines were returning from visiting Gavin’s dad and sister and were due at Hank and Connor’s any minute. While Connor had also been invited, he’d elected to stay with Hank over Christmas after the older man had declined various invitations over the festive period. Hank had made a lot of progress in the years since Cole had died, but Christmas was always a bad time of year.

Gavin and Nines had offered to stay as well, but Hank had encouraged them all to go. Just because he wasn’t one for Christmas anymore didn’t mean they should share in his withdrawal from everything to do with the time of year. They had made a point of phoning their opposite halves still in Detroit from Seattle though, making sure that Hank and Connor knew they were being thought of.

Now cleaning up the remains of the last of their Christmas wrapping paper and tidying up the living room, Connor’s eyes lit up when he heard keys in the lock. Hank looked over from where he’d been washing the dishes at hearing the ‘ooof’ from the front door. He smiled at seeing Connor hugging Gavin in the doorway, more than happy to have his other partner back. Nines gently slid past them and came to greet Hank in the kitchen with a slow kiss.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Hank smiled at the android pulled back. “Good trip?”

“It was quite enjoyable,” Nines confirmed with his own smile while shifting to wrap an arm around Hank’s waist. The pair watched as Connor chattered to Gavin excitedly, Sumo also jumping around at seeing his two other favourite people were now around. Nines and Gavin were now at the house so often that Sumo adored them – the pair had been given keys at the start of November after a discussion about the longevity of all the relationships, where everyone aired that they were more than happy to continue.

They’d even talked tentatively about the four of them finding a bigger place so that they could live together, but that would open up a whole new other set of problems. It was one thing knowing that your boyfriend had another partner and was very much in love with them, but hearing that in the form of them having sex? That was a hurdle yet to be approached and cleared before they give it more serious consideration.

Something that they were aware might well happen in the next few days given Gavin and Nines were intending on staying over for New Year. Until then though, they were all just glad to be reunited again. Hank and Nines laughed as Connor dragged Gavin further into the house and threw a blanket over him once he’d removed the detective’s coat. “Con, I’m fine! It’s not that cold!” Gavin protested as Connor proceeded to make him into a burrito.

“He’s been doing it to me all bloody week, you can enjoy it now,” Hank sniggered as Gavin shot him an unimpressed look. “Con’s your boyfriend too, if I’ve got to suffer his mothering then you should as well.”

“You make it sound like such an inconvenience, Hank,” Connor drawled as Gavin spied an opportunity and charged Connor in his wrapped up state. Not expecting the body blow, the pair went tumbling into the sofa when they both burst out laughing. Nines rolled his eyes as Hank chuckled, turning his attention to the dishes behind them.

“Would you care for a hand in tidying up, Hank? Then we can see about getting the mischief makers under some control,” Nines suggested with a wink.

“You say that as if you don’t enjoy seeing them both be so carefree,” Hank pointed out as they returned to the dishes, but the older man smiled when Nines pecked his cheek.

“Of course I do, but I had to suffer through Gavin and his sister winding each other up over the whole Christmas period. Hyper Gavin is a handful,” the android sighed as they heard Gavin yelling at Connor from the living room. Both recognised the gasping laughter which followed a second later and Nines sighed. “Does Connor have the same tickling fixation with you as he does with Gavin?”

Hank smirked. “Nope, I’m not ticklish so I spoil his fun with it. Since he discovered that Gavin’s pretty vulnerable to tickling, Connor’s been enjoying it.”

Nines’ LED spun in contemplation. “Interesting. I’ll have to ask Connor for some hints on how to render Gavin so helpless,” he murmured to himself, at which Hank nudged him with his hip.

“Or you could just try it out yourself. Getting hints from Con would be cheating after all.”

“What would Nines be cheating at?” They both turned around at hearing Connor’s question, who had subsequently paused in his tickle retribution. Hank winked over at him before Nines answered.

“I was wondering whether I should ask you for advice on how to efficiently tickle Gavin,” Niles told them nonchalantly, to which Gavin started squirming out from under Connor.

“Fuck no! I don’t need another android obsessed with testing how little breath I can live with!” Gavin declared while wrestling his way free. “Hank, please for the love of god, tell me you’ve got a way for me to escape from this for a while!”

Pretending to contemplate it, Hank eventually nodded towards the sink. “Trade places with Nines and help me clean up then. Once that’s done, why don’t we see about a film or something similarly mindless for us all to chill out?”

They all pitched in to get the house clean before piling on to the new sofa that the four of them had split the cost of as a Christmas present. Hank and Nines were leaning against an end each with Connor and Gavin curled into their boyfriends. Most of their legs were in a hopeless tangle in the middle and if they couldn’t tell who they were entwined with…

Well, it had been a long time since they’d been conscious of the borders between them. They were all beyond friends now, even if not all lovers. Something small like that wasn’t going to bother any of them.

* * *

“Hey, Hank, have you noticed anything new since we got back?”

The question blindsided Hank a little and he looked up from where he was reading on the recliner. Gavin was staring out of the window to the back yard, where Connor and Nines were chatting as Sumo did his business. Curious as to where the other man’s thoughts were, Hank put down his book and gave Gavin his full attention. “Haven’t really been paying attention, to tell you the truth. My head’s still not really all here. What have you been picking up on?”

Gavin scowled a little and sighed as he shifted on the sofa to look up at the ceiling. Since the two of them were both sharing the same partners Hank and Gavin had become good friends through their various discussions. They’d learned a lot of their mutual snarling was mostly down to insecurities (after being forced into talking by their partners), and from that point they’d almost become confidantes to one another.

More often than not it was about worries regarding balancing two relationships at once, but at times like this it wasn’t unknown for either of them to ask for advice or just air thoughts. The way Gavin was stalling right now told Hank that the other man was worried that he was overreacting, but he wanted Gavin to come out and say whatever was bothering him.

Eventually Gavin’s attention swapped to Hank again and he looked at the older man curiously. “Do you think things have changed between Con and Nines? I know they were always close but there’s…I dunno, it’s almost like they’re like- Fuck, I’m not making much sense here…”

Hank caught on to what Gavin was getting at and he put the other man out of his misery. “Do I think those two are attracted to each other?” he jumped in softly. At Gavin’s small nod, Hank sat back. “Wouldn’t surprise me if they were given how often I’ve heard both Connor and Nines commenting on what they admire about the other.”

“Huh, so they do that to you too…” Gavin mused while staring up at the ceiling again. “Do you ever wonder at what fucking crazy turn resulted in us being here now?”

That had Hank laughing quietly. “More often than you’d believe, but those two have convinced me that it’s not a bad thing to accept it’s a good thing. Part of me is still adamant that one day they’re going to realise that I’m an old man who’s not got many years left, and that they’ll realise the problems that come with it.”

Gavin’s face morphed to a scowl again and he sat up slightly. “Hank, you’re hardly that old. You’re 54, not 84. Fuck’s sake, when I was 25 I was shacking up with a guy who was 57. Even now he’s a fox and he’s turning 70 in two months. Age doesn’t really count for much.”

The knowledge caught Hank by surprise and looked at Gavin, stunned. “Huh, you did? How did I not know that before now? You were at the precinct by then.”

“We weren’t exactly friends back then and I was part of Vice. You were still Narco at that point and I was just a beat cop, we didn’t exactly cross paths,” Gavin pointed out. “Besides, I’ve always been pretty private about my personal business. Only ones who really know that we were a thing are his now wife, their kids and Tina.”

“Whoa, rewind. His _now_ wife?”

Blushing a little, Gavin sat up and stared down at the floor with a blush. “Look, don’t jump to any conclusions here, all right?” At Hank’s nod, Gavin went on. “Dan had known me since I was a kid, old friend of my dad’s back when they worked together from before my mom died and we moved to Seattle. When I came back to Detroit, Dad put us in touch and we got on well. His relationship with his partner was suffering though and they decided they needed a break for a little while – with three grown kids and a couple of young grandkids, they wanted to know if they still cared about each other.

“Dan and I hooked up for a little while in that time. It was…really great, actually.” Gavin smiled a little in memory. “We mostly messed around but we knew there was genuine affection there too. Did that for about 7 months before Dan decided that he wanted to give things another try with Evelyn. I had no problems with it, I knew he still loved her, and encouraged him to tell her the truth.” A small laugh broke free as he remembered that portion of his life.

“Got some mail through eight months later: a wedding invitation. Met Evelyn for the first time a week after that and got thanked for reigniting their relationship. Turns out they just needed a little push to realise they still wanted the other. I still talk to them frequently and I’m now famous in their family for my role in them getting married almost 40 years after they first started dating.”

Hank sat through the story with a smile and laughed at hearing the end of it. “Wow, what a tale. Whoever said you’re a bad influence doesn’t know the real you, myself included,” he finished with a wink, which had Gavin blushing.

“Dunno about that,” he muttered while flopping back down and staring up so that he didn’t have to see Hank’s smirk. “Look, the point is, you’re not old, Hank. You’re fit and in good health – if you’re what those two want then you shouldn’t be trying to convince them otherwise. Have respect for their wishes and let them have the choice to enjoy being with you.”

Absorbing the other man’s words, Hank smiled and stood. He wandered over to the sofa and offered Gavin a hand. “Thanks, Gavin. I’ll work on it.” Gavin shook the hand and swung his legs up on to the back of the sofa so that Hank could sit next to him. Once the older man had accepted the invitation, he turned back to looking out the window at their two androids.

Connor and Nines were staring at each other in seeming silence, but both Hank and Gavin recognised the blinking of Nines’ LED which meant they were speaking internally. “Okay, so, back to the actual topic before we went on a massive fucking tangent,” Hank started, “you think Con and Nines might be starting to feel something towards each other?” Gavin nodded and Hank thought it over before speaking again. “How you feeling about that?”

Gavin looked between Hank and the window as he thought. “Interestingly, I’m not bothered by it at all. I mean, the fact that I’m in a relationship with each of them probably makes this a lot fucking easier than it would have been otherwise, but…”

“But what?” Hank prompted.

“Would I have any right to have any issue with it? I mean, I’m dating the pair of them – should I really have a say on whether those two end up together as well?”

“Hey, don’t forget I’m in the same boat as you here. I’m with both those androids too, so it’s not as if this is in any way simple.” He then made sure to meet Gavin’s eyes as he went on. “And of course you’re allowed to have issues regarding it or insecurities. Everyone having two relationships is a lot of work already, those two being in a _third_? That’s even less time for each partner. It’s not quite so straightforward as just adding someone else to a relationship since we’re not all a thing.”

Blushing a little, Gavin coughed and sat up a little. “You’d think that would make it easier?” he asked quietly. “I mean, I’ve not really had any issues with jealousy or anything like that for a couple of months now, I know we’re all cool with how things are. Everyone being open about it helps.”

Hank made sure not to crush Gavin’s legs as he leant back. “It might, I dunno. I can’t help but worry a little bit about how we’re all gonna react to the first time any of us has sex with anyone else around. That’s something else entirely, wouldn’t be a concern if all of us were, you know, a quartet rather than a series of intertwining duos.”

Gavin’s blush got darker and he let his legs slip slightly so that they were resting on Hank’s shoulders. “You ever thought about it?” he asked softly. “Doesn’t have to be serious, just…even a passing thought?”

That caught Hank by surprise and he stared at Gavin in slight shock. “Uhm…”

“You know what, don’t answer that,” Gavin corrected while shuffling back to sit up properly, crossing his legs on the sofa. Hank was surprised by how much he missed the warmth – as much as he adored their androids, they didn’t feel the same as a human’s imperfections. “Didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that-”

“Gav.” The younger man froze at the sound and Hank rested a hand on Gavin’s knee tentatively. “We’ve steadily been getting closer too over these past few months; I mean, we’re toying with moving in together as a four so it’s the sort of thing that you can’t help but…wonder about.” Hank caught that Gavin was staring widely and offered him a shy smile. “It’s the sort of thing I’d be open to if there was a genuine foundation there.”

“I can sense a ‘but’ there,” Gavin urged gently.

Hank sighed and looked at Gavin seriously. “At this stage, I’d be worried that if anything happened between us it was because it was kinda…’easier’ or ‘expected’.”

“Because of everyone else being together?”

Glad that Gavin realised where he was coming from, Hank nodded. “Yeah, exactly that. I’ve wondered idly about it but, honestly, it’s not gone beyond that. You’re definitely an attractive guy, Gavin, but I’d not- Fuck’s sake, up until about ten minutes ago I didn’t realise that you’d be open to a relationship with someone so much older than you.”

Chuckling, Gavin placed down a friendly hand on top of Hank’s own. “We’re both head over heels for androids: I don’t think age really is part of the equation anymore, Hank.” That earned a hearty laugh from the older man but they pulled away slightly as they heard the other two come in with Sumo. The large St Bernard charged over to the sofa and planted his head between Hank and Gavin as Connor and Nines stayed in the kitchen.

As the humans spoiled Sumo with attention they paid attention to the androids prep some food. Their eyebrows rose at hearing the two swap jokes and laugh loudly, noticing that Connor and Nines seemed to be in constant contact somehow. Be it bumping hips, tapping arms, looking over shoulders…

Looking back to each other, Hank suddenly had an idea that might clear up both the slightly murky friendships in their group: because if the recent discussion had shown anything, it was that Connor and Nines weren’t the only ones with muddied emotions. He wasn’t sure of his own yet, but he wanted to give Gavin the opportunity to take a leap with him if the younger man was on board.

“Gavin, I’ve got an idea – but it’s gonna require us to go out on a limb too.”

Intrigued, Gavin looked back to the androids briefly. Once it was clear that the pair were well distracted, he nodded. “Shoot, I’m listening.”

* * *

To Hank’s complete surprise, Gavin was one hundred percent on board with the idea after a little time to think. Both halves of it. Now he was just having to quietly stew in the last couple of days running up to New Year’s Eve.

As luck would have it, all of them were off for the holiday as of 9pm that night as they’d worked the year before. After stopping off to grab some Chinese for Gavin and Hank (a New Year’s treat) they went back to Hank and Connor’s and settled in with some drinks to bring in the new decade.

With the minutes counting down to midnight, Hank and Gavin shared a final look before committing to their plan. “You still sure about this, Gav? We’re not locked into anything yet if neither of us is ready for it.”

Gavin smiled at Hank and held a drink out for the other man to take. While normally Hank would try not to go near anything, tonight was an exception – it was symbolic for the new start, and no-one would let him get carried away. “Yeah, I’m as sure as I was when you asked me two hours ago,” the younger man laughed, “and the seven other times you’ve asked me in the past three days. I thought about it before I said yes in the first place, Hank.”

“I know, I know, but this is _it_ , now,” Hank rambled a little. “Wouldn’t have blamed you for changing your mind now that you’ve got to-”

A finger came to land on Hank’s lips as Gavin shook his head. “Stop fucking panicking, old man. It’s just a New Year’s kiss if that’s all we want it to be. No pressure beyond that, right?”

Hank relaxed a little and nodded. “Right. Thanks, kinda needed that.”

“Never really took you as a panicker,” Gavin snorted as they walked back towards their androids in the living room, the countdown timer showing 4 minutes 37 seconds to go.

“Just as well you never saw me on my first dates with Con and Nines then, you’d have got a real kick out of that.” Gavin laughed again as he passed thirium drinks to the androids, who both gave him a small peck as they got settled.

“All set to bring in 2040?” Connor asked while wrapping an arm around Hank, who reciprocated in kind.

Nines left a kiss to Gavin’s forehead as he slotted his arm around the human’s waist, smiling at his companions. “It feels strange to actually be part of New Year’s festivities for the first time,” he stated while looking into his drink. “Having only been activated in January, I missed all of this before.”

Gavin coughed a little awkwardly and blushed. “Well, since you weren’t here, Nines, and I know we were all working last year, I think we all missed out on an important New Year’s tradition,” he started. At the androids’ curious look his went on as steadily as he could. “You can’t bring in the new year without kissing someone, it’s bad luck if you don’t.”

“Oh!” Connor looked between Hank and Gavin before his face fell a little. “But we’ve all got two partners, how can we kiss both?”

“We can’t, Con,” Hank added while squeezing the android’s side. “Way I see it, the only way to not cause any ill feelings is to kiss the non-partner at midnight and kiss the others properly after it.”

Nines’ eyes narrowed at Hank as Connor blushed a little. “You mean…I kiss Nines and you kiss Gavin? Won’t that be a bit awkward?”

Hank shrugged as best he could. “It’s just a New Year’s tradition, baby, not a relationship defining thing. I’ve kissed total strangers before, won’t be worse than that.”

“Ringing endorsement there,” Gavin grumbled good naturedly while nudging Nines lightly. “You don’t look convinced, babe. Who do you want to kiss then?”

Both humans realised that Nines had caught on to their real intention from the look he gave them. “I will kiss Connor,” he eventually said, which had Hank winking at him in victory. The android rolled his eyes but smiled back. “As you said, it is only a kiss for tradition – it need not hold any weight beyond that.”

“Right, good. Sweet. Better turn up the volume then and make sure Sumo’s well insulated from the noise,” Gavin stumbled a little before looking to Connor. “Con, want to help me check in on Sumo?”

Connor’s LED spun slightly before he nodded and went with Gavin. That left Hank and Nines alone in the living room for a moment, to which the android raised an eyebrow at the lieutenant. “Rather a poor attempt to conceal a plan,” he sighed while walking closer to Hank.

“What?” he shrugged innocently as Nines subconsciously turned up the volume of the TV, as Gavin suggested.

“If you wanted to kiss Gavin, you could have done it some other time. You didn’t need to orchestrate a whole scenario and wait all this time for it,” the android pointed out.

Hank blinked at Nines in shock. “Wait, what? Hun, this was arranged to get you to kiss Connor, not the other way around.” At Nines’ LED going yellow and the stunned look on the android’s face, he hadn’t realised _that_ was what they were going for. “You really thought this was Gavin and I looking for an excuse to kiss?”

“You two regard the other as attractive, it seemed like the natural conclusion was that you had both finally admitted that and wanted to explore it. This was arranged for Connor and I?”

“Fucking hell…only we could managed this,” Hank sighed as he smacked his forehead in exasperation. “Looks like all of us need to have another long talk after this about undiscussed feelings and all that; but yes, this was our idea to get you and Con to stop dancing around each other. You’ve been at it since you and Gavin came back from Christmas and we wanted to give you a friendly nudge in the right direction. It’s all right if you two want to explore something.”

Nines relaxed a little and kissed Hank gently. “You two are rather sweet, even if you’ve gone about this rather backwards. Connor and I have talked a little, yes, but we didn’t want to do anything without talking to the both of you first. It’s a rather large change to our dynamics.”

“Sure, it would be, but change doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” They looked down the hallway as they heard Gavin and Connor talking on their way back, but Hank managed to sneak in one last sentence. “If this year has taught me anything, it’s that,” he whispered while taking Nines’ hand briefly.

The RK900 smiled lovingly at him as the other two came back, to which Connor was looking a little skittish. Gavin grabbed Hank’s arm and pulled him away gently to let the androids talk as the timer dipped under 30 seconds. “Is Ni good about it?” Gavin asked quietly.

Hank nodded and kept an eye on the timer as he answered. “Yeah, turns out they’ve talked but were waiting to run it all past us first. Nines was actually asking if we did this so that _we_ could find a reason to kiss.”

Gavin went scarlet and glared half-heartedly at the taller android. “I’m gonna fucking kill him later.”

That caught Hank slightly unawares and he looked at Gavin seriously. “Wait, there’s something to what he said?”

**_10! 9! 8!_ **

Realising that this wasn’t the time, Gavin shook his head and looked pointedly at the TV. “Talk about this later, we’ve kinda got something happening.” Hank wanted to argue but as he finally heard Connor and Nines counting down with the voice booming through the speakers, he realised Gavin was right.

**_3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!_ **

As fireworks went off outside, Nines brought a blushing Connor in for a kiss while Hank and Gavin kind of stared at each other. They paused for a couple of seconds before finally meeting for what could only be considered a shy peck. It was a little stilted and awkward at first, but when Gavin tentatively reached out for Hank’s hand it broke a barrier between them and settled into something much more natural.

The kiss was soft and enjoyable, both of them parting with a slightly shy smile after a few seconds. Gavin was blushing slightly, about to say something before he snickered and pointed Hank towards the androids next to them. Hank turned to look before smiling at seeing Nines and Connor still kissing, the pair obviously enjoying themselves if the slight smiles on their faces as they kept meeting for chaste pecks were anything to go by.

“Safe to say that went well, I think,” Gavin chuckled as Hank nodded.

“Yeah, I think it did. And you know what, I’m actually looking forward to a year for the first time in a long while. Change might not be such a bad thing anymore.”

Gavin nodded at him slightly as Connor and Nines finally realised what they’d been doing, looking at their boyfriends apologetically. Everyone laughed warmly before kissing their partners, and then proceeding to pile on to the sofa to watch the New Year’s festivities.

In a change from before, Hank and Gavin were the ones at either end so that Connor and Nines could talk in the middle, though everyone was curled in rather close. So close in fact that Hank was only mildly surprised when he felt a hand reach up and link with his along the back of the sofa.

When he followed it along, he offered Gavin a small smile as they dropped their joined hands over their boyfriend’s shoulders to hold them all together. His smile grew as he curled into Connor and watched the two androids interface while huddled in against their human partners. This was going to need more talking and no doubt there would be a lot of stumbling as they worked it out, but Hank was figuring it would be worth it.

It was a new decade after all – the perfect time for new beginning. He was hopeful that this beginning would not have an end anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: Gavin's story about his former partner is based off my own life experience. It's not exactly true, but it's close enough. 
> 
> If you want to see my big news, have a look on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SkyeWillows) and [Tumblr](https://skyewillows.tumblr.com) to see the new writing website that I'm uploading to with some immensely talented authors!
> 
> Happy Holidays everyone, and here's to an amazing new decade!
> 
> <3


End file.
